Itchy Feet
by NikkyPickles
Summary: Rapunzel yearns to see more of the world. Technically follows Rescuing Rapunzel.
1. Prologue

**A/N –This is technically a sequel to Rescuing Rapunzel - but should still be accepted as a standalone story. All you need to know is Rapunzel still has her golden hair and Eugene didn't get as far as actually dying in the tower (he just lost consciousness a bit).**

**I was going to do some small edits/rewrites to Rescuing Rapunzel before doing a sequel – including fleshing out the rather hurried final chapter and filling in some plot holes – but then I read a fic that I felt almost cut and pasted key plot elements from my final chapter and I felt plagerised. As a result, there will be no rewrite – I am leaving the original publishing dates as they are. I **_**have**_** done the rewrite, but it will remain offline and for my own satisfaction only. This sequel will just have to fill in any blanks as it goes along.**

**I don't want anyone else to feel as I did, so if I have been inspired by any aspect of your **_**unique**_** plot elements and I am aware I am doing so, I will acknowledge as such in the chapter footnotes. These should be few and far between, as I pride myself on having an original imagination. Rant over, please now enjoy Itchy Feet...**

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Prologue

At last, Rapunzel was home, and she had a real family. She was a princess worth waiting for. Beloved by all, she led her kingdom with all the grace and wisdom that her parents did before her.

In fact, she seemed to have an uncanny natural ability when it came to affairs of state. She had sat in rapt silence during that first trade agreement with her father, intent only on observing and learning. But by the time the second, follow-up meeting was held, Rapunzel had asked questions and formed ideas and eventually took over negotiations before signing a mutually beneficial agreement that even the King hadn't been able to secure. Her parents had glowed with pride, even more so than her hair usually did.

Eugene had been proud too, of course. He was thrilled that Rapunzel had adapted so quickly to the palace and to the ruling life. But mostly he had been kicking his heels in the palace gardens. He was happy – of course he was happy – he had his freedom and a true, reciprocated love. His record had been expunged – if only as a technicality, since Eugene Nathanial Silas Fitzherbert didn't actually _have_ a record; Flynn Rider had, but he had been allowed to die in that tower when Eugene passed out, and he would not be making a reappearance. The price had been removed from his head, and he had even been knighted, but somehow Eugene felt that didn't properly redress the balance. His newly discovered conscience was niggling at him, until he sought the king's council. Following that meeting, Eugene had taken a team of men and started work regenerating the poorest areas of the kingdom. It was hard physical labour, but with every day out in the fresh air, Eugene felt stronger and happier. He slept better at night, knowing he was helping to do good for the people the woman he loved was helping to rule. It didn't hurt his popularity stakes with the citizens, and the fact that Rapunzel had started admiring his better defined muscles also hadn't escaped his attention.

And so life continued, until the princess's nineteenth birthday. Eugene had spent the day, not fixing roofs – as that work was now all but completed – but planning with the king and queen for the celebrations. It was the best day ever. Every day since returning home had been Rapunzel's best day ever, much to Eugene's amusement. This one ended when Eugene rowed them out in a small boat, just as they had that first time a year ago. They lay comfortably in each other's arms, wrapped in Rapunzel's golden hair, watching the lanterns.

"Promise me something, Blondie," Eugene murmured, watching how Rapunzel intertwined her fingers with his.

"What is it?"

"Never lose your curiosity," he whispered, nuzzling his face into her hair until he could place a kiss on her neck.

It had to be coincidence that he mentioned curiosity, but it made Rapunzel sit up, looking with sincerity into Eugene's eyes, and admit she had itchy feet – and it had nothing to do with the shoes...

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**A/N – and just as promised, I have to acknowledge that Eugene's physical labour was inspired by a story by Miana. I'm not aware of any other unique inspirations – message me if you feel hard done by. Chapter One to follow.**


	2. Milton

**A/N - I think this is going to be a much harder story to write. My muse has been seriously damaged. Still I'm going to persevere - your reviews will help of course!**

**By the way - in case you were wondering, Milton is the name of a second horse that features in the Tangled computer game so the characters can have a race. I've been doing my homework!**

Chapter One – Milton

Eugene sat up too, a little concerned by the intensity of the princess's admission.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I have never been happier," she said, giving him a large, reassuring smile. "I just... there's still so much out there I haven't seen or experienced yet."

Eugene looked at her. She had spent a year being a princess; being the _perfect_ princess; _his_ perfect princess. She had learned so much, and achieved even more. And she still yearned for more.

"I can show you the world!" he promised.

She giggled. And then Eugene knew that Rapunzel had been thinking about this for a long time. She probably had a plan already in place. He smiled, but then the smile faded.

"What about your parents?" he asked, quietly. "They've only had you back for a year. They won't want to lose you again so soon."

"I talked to my mother last week," Rapunzel reassured him. Later, too late, Eugene remembered how good Rapunzel was at politics. She had been completely honest, but had not exactly told the truth.

Eugene had been right about one thing; Rapunzel had already made plans. She explained in a breathless, excited voice. She had been reading about a rare natural phenomenon, seventeen miles south of Corona: a waterfall with blue-green water at the top, turning red at the bottom when it mixed with the clay base. It would be the perfect place to start.

"To start?" Eugene repeated. "Just how much do you want to see, Blondie?"

"Everything!" Rapunzel enthused. Eugene shook his head and rolled his eyes, planting a kiss on the princess's forehead.

Rapunzel had planned their sabbatical down to the smallest detail. Eugene was almost frightened by how like an escape the premeditated break seemed and how long it had been anticipated. Her release from the tower had been only slightly more desired.

Eugene rowed them back to the shore and escorted Rapunzel up to her rooms. He bowed low and kissed the back of her hand in what had become their nightly ritual. The biggest difference tonight was the knowing look she gave him as he backed away towards his own suite.

Rapunzel requested her chamber maid braid her hair tightly before retiring. They would be leaving at dawn, and she couldn't afford the time to tie her hair out of the way in the morning. As soon as the maid left the room Rapunzel closed the door and barred it with a heavy chair. She pulled two satchels from beneath her bed and placed them next to the window. They were already full of clothes and provisions for their trip.

She hardly slept that night for excitement. She slept with the curtains open, so the first hint of sunrise woke her. She placed the satchels across her body, one on each shoulder. Her braid made her hair unusable as an abseiling tool, but Rapunzel had already worked out the solution to this by storing a regular rope beside her balcony. It took hardly any time at all for her to use her expert climbing skills to reach the gardens and she moved swiftly and silently in bare feet to the stables.

Her face lit up and her heart leaped when she saw that Eugene was waiting for her, as she knew he would be. He stifled a yawn, ran a hand through his own rumpled hair and then, remembered his manners and took the satchels from Rapunzel's shoulders.

Even out here Rapunzel had been prepared. There were two horses ready for use; Max and Milton. Milton was a smaller, grey horse, the temperamental opposite to Maximus. He stood docile while Eugene lifted Rapunzel gently into the saddle. Max on the other hand stamped his hooves, until Rapunzel shot him a warning look.

"Quiet Max!" she hissed. "Let's not wake the whole kingdom!"

She kicked her heels into Milton's flanks and then she was gone in a flash of gold, lavender and grey.

"Come on, Max," said Eugene. "There's no stopping the princess once she's made up her mind!"

Milton, in addition to being placid and even-tempered, was also a younger horse. Maximus didn't appreciate the competition and rode hard. Eugene was afraid his kidneys were going to be jolted out of his throat by the time they had reached the five mile marker and he had to call out to Rapunzel for a break. Dismounting, his knees almost refused to hold him up.

"You're keen to get away, Goldie," he said, "I'll give you that. What aren't you telling me?"

At last Rapunzel looked guilty. She slid down from Milton's back and the horse resumed his default setting of silent observation. Maximus snorted and glared suspiciously at the younger horse; he found it unnerving the way Milton just stood there.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene asked, when the princess didn't say anything. "What did your parents say about this little excursion?"

"Eh owe noh," Rapunzel mumbled. Eugene frowned.

"Pardon?"

"They don't know!" Rapunzel repeated, louder. "I talked to my mother, but it would break her heart knowing I wanted to leave them, even for a short time. I couldn't tell her. I lost my nerve."

"It's not too late," said Eugene. "We can still go home and explain."

"No," said Rapunzel, decisively, climbing back onto Milton's back and turning the horse towards their destination. Eugene's shoulders sagged. Maximus nudged his back, hinting that he should remount.

"You don't understand, princess," he said, softly, trying a different approach. "They're going to think you've been kidnapped again."

"I left a note..." Rapunzel said, in a small voice, as if this would make things right. Eugene's heart melted. He leaned across to her and stroked her cheek.

"It's a good job you are so easy to love," he said as they set off again. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get back before they worry too much."

_And maybe I'll be lucky enough for the king and queen to let me keep breathing when I waltz back into town to return the lost princess. Again._


	3. Waianuenue

**A/N - sorry for the delay, I've been sick. Really sick. And this will only be a short update. Looks like my muse has gotten poorly too. Hopefully I'll be back to full health again in a few days and be back to my normal, inspired self.**

**Bilingual bonus (kind of) - Waianuenue (should have an accent mark I think) is the name of Rainbow Falls (it literally means rainbow water) in Hawaii. It doesn't change colours, but in a Disney world, can't you just imagine if it did?**

Chapter Two – Waianuenue

They were more than two thirds of the way to the waterfall when Rapunzel decided they should stop for something to eat. Eugene was famished, and had barely made it from his saddle before tearing open his satchel. Immediately, a long slimy tongue shot out and struck his hand.

"Eww!" Eugene whined, wiping his hand on his doublet. Rapunzel gave a little shriek of delight.

"Pascal!" she cried. "You little stowaway!"

"Good to see you, froggy," Eugene muttered, lifting Pascal out of his satchel and returning to his search for food. Rapunzel had packed bread and fruit and some cold meats. It was a proper little picnic, complete with blanket, but Eugene noticed that Rapunzel only picked at her food, almost as if she was rationing her meal.

"Not hungry?" Eugene asked, his mouth full.

"Just excited," Rapunzel said, picking up a pear and absent-mindedly taking a bite as she paced the clearing where they had taken their rest. She flicked a loose piece of hair back over her shoulder. The braid was starting to come loose, but Rapunzel wasn't about to ask for help re-tying it.

Eugene packed away the remnants of the food and placed Pascal between Milton's ears. Pascal frowned and looked over to Maximus. The older white horse gave a snort, and Pascal jumped over to his preferred vantage point. Given the choice, the chameleon wasn't going to ride an unfamiliar steed.

Another hour's ride, and Rapunzel pulled Milton to a halt. She could hear the sounds of rushing water.

"We're nearly there!" she said breathlessly, before urging the horse forward again. Maximus almost had trouble keeping pace as Milton eased into a full gallop towards the waterfall.

Eugene had to admit, the falls were an impressive sight. Exactly as Rapunzel had described, the water was clearly blue-green at the top, turning white as it fell, then red as it mixed with the clay at the bottom.

Rapunzel dismounted and stood, open-mouthed, simply staring at the falls. She jumped when Eugene came up beside her and slid an arm around her waist.

"It's beautiful," Rapunzel breathed.

"Yeah, it is," Eugene replied, softly, not taking his eyes off Rapunzel. They stood, drinking in the scenery for a few more seconds, before Rapunzel turned to her own satchel.

It took her half an hour to paint a perfect facsimilie of the waterfalls. Eugene sat in silence, watching her, while Maximus and Milton grazed nearby. Eugene didn't really want to break the spell, but he knew her parents would be starting to get worried, and they still had the return journey to make.

Even so, it should not have surprised him that Rapunzel wanted to extend their little excursion with a visit to the top of the falls. Milton had already started up the path, without Rapunzel's urging, before Eugene had remounted.

"Sometimes, I don't trust him either," Eugene muttered, in response to Maximus's annoyed whinney..

There was a still pool at the top of the falls, separated from the current by thick rocks. It was too much for Rapunzel to resist, and so she didn't. She stripped off her lavender dress, down to her shift and dived in. Eugene didn't know where to look. Pascal turned bright red.

Her golden hair completely undid itself from the braid in the water, winding itself around her as she splashed and paddled. The water was cold and it wasn't long before goosebumps covered her arms and her teeth began to chatter.

"You'll catch a cold, Blondie!" Eugene said, looking and trying not to look, reaching out a hand to help her out of the water. He fetched the picnic blanket from the satchel to towel her down, before handing her back her dress.

"That was _amazing_!" Rapunzel enthused, squeezing the water from her hair one section at a time. "I'm so glad we did this!"

"Yes, we've done it," said Eugene. "And now it's time to go home."

"But the weeping mountain is only two miles away," said Rapunzel. And at that point, Eugene knew he had lost before he had even begun to argue. He shot a glance at Maximus, who, in turn, shot a look at Milton. If anything, the younger horse looked amused, as if he had known the plan all along.

"Ok," Eugene sighed. "It's close enough for a quick visit, but then we _have_ to go home. Your mother and father will kill me if you're missing for too long. _Literally_! I can almost feel the noose already..." He placed a hand to his throat dramatically. Rapunzel gave a half smile. He was right, she knew he was right, but they had only just begun to see all the wonders the world had to offer.

Watching from the trees surrounding the top of the waterfall, someone else had just begun to see a new wonder; one with seventy feet of shimmering golden hair. And Milton, such a good horse, had brought her here...


	4. Bonus Backstory

**A/N - ****Wolfram-and-Hart-Sauron correctly identified in a lovely private message the plagerism I mentioned in the author's notes for the prologue for this story. (Many thanks - this chapter is dedicated to your observation and support) But** I realised that I'm going to have to put this chapter to explain a few things. These would have been at least partly explained had I published the re-write and edits for Rescuing Rapunzel. Since that's not going to ever happen, consider this a bonus chapter. Unlike a certain Flynn Rider, NikkyPickles does do backstory.

Chapter Three – Bonus Backstory

_Fergus stayed hidden. He'd watched the bandits in action before and had made up his mind to ask them to let him join. It was a gamble, but he had almost nothing to lose. Now, crouching in the bushes near the bandit camp, he waited for them to return from their latest raid. When they marched into the clearing, however, they did not seem in the mood for a job interview._

"_We were so close!" one of them, a tall, wiry bandit, swinging a mace, snarled._

"_The greatest treasure and we just let it ride away from us!" a second bandit threw his hands in the air incredulously._

_Fergus crept closer. This sounded intriguing. What great treasure could these bandits have lost?_

_Bit by bit, as they dissected their failure, he pieced together enough of the story. There were still gaps, but he worked out that the treasure had something to do with gold, hair, music and a witch in a cave. The only caves Fergus knew about were the ones at the base of the chalk cliffs. Maybe the witch could tell him more about this treasure._

_Fergus made his mind up then and there. Rather than just waltz into the camp and ask to join, it would be far more impressive to stomp into the camp, display his successful acquisition of the greatest treasure and _demand_ to join, even lead, the bandit clan._

_He backed away from the camp, careful not to make a sound, and made his way to the cliffs._

_X0x0x0x0x0x0X_

_It wasn't difficult to work out which cave housed the witch, Fergus realised. It was the only one all but blocked by a rock slide. Some of the smaller rocks near the top of the cave mouth had been pushed away, but he guessed the witch was too weak to escape, unless she was only a few inches tall. Fortunately, Fergus was young and strong, pulling away at the rocks with both hands until he created a gap wide enough for him to squeeze through._

_Unsurprisingly the cave beyond was pitch black, but not, as it turned out, very deep. It was also empty. Maybe he'd been wrong about the witch's location, but as his eyes adjusted to the gloom and dim light filtering into the cave from his entrance, Fergus saw the cave wasn't entirely empty,_

_There was a heap of cloth, which, when Fergus lifted it, showered him with fine dust. It was a travelling cloak. Two small items also fell out of the folds. One was a lock of brown hair, the other was a worn down piece of charcoal. Neither of these offered Fergus any clues to the whereabouts of the witch, until, turning to leave and shoving the items in his pockets, Fergus spotted something written, in the charcoal, on the cave wall._

"_Flower gleam and... glow?" Fergus read, slowly. Was it some kind of spell?_

_There was more writing and Fergus read it several times to himself, to make sure he memorised it properly. The witch wasn't here, but Fergus knew of an apothecary in the fishing village across the bay who would be able to tell him more about the spell he had just learned. He squirmed out of the cave and made tracks to find a boat._

_X0x0x0x0x0x0X_

_The apothecary knew nothing about the spell written on the cave wall, even though Fergus recited it perfectly, nor anything about a witch. He did tell Fergus the legend of the sun-seeded Blaue Clips that had been used to heal the queen of the nearby kingdom some eighteen years previously, but Fergus was barely listening. What did a silly flower have to do with treasure? Even if it was golden and magic. Wait a minute..._

_He'd stayed with the apothecary for a week, learning as much as he could, before stealing the poor man's horse and riding off in the middle of the night. He rode to the edge of the nearby kingdom. They'd been deep in celebration for some reason or another. Some lost princess. This was slightly less interesting than the flower story to Fergus and he soon made plans to leave. He paid little attention to the pictures of the princess, didn't notice the golden hair that framed her beautiful face. Which was a shame, he learned later, as it would've made his search much shorter._

_Fergus had managed to use the distraction of the celebration to steal plenty of provisions and information. He had learned little more about the flower, except some garbled interpretation of a tower where the princess had been held by an evil witch. _

_The witch again. Or maybe a different witch. Fergus didn't know, but the tower was his next destination. Not having a map or any real directions, it took him the best part of another week to locate it. A dilapidated ruin, Fergus wasn't sure it would hold many answers. An improvised rope of bedsheets and torn dresses hung from the only open window at the top of the tower. Despite himself, Fergus was curious, and climbed up to have a look around. There might be something worth stealing._

_The walls were covered in paintings. There was a large patch of dried blood on the floor and some unlocked shackles lay nearby. Something serious had happened in this tower._

_Moving from room to room, Fergus found a collection of pottery, candles, a chess board. Someone had lived here for a very long time. There was no evidence of spell casting, however, and he was starting to doubt the validity of the witch rumours._

_There were three books. No, wait, _four_ books. One was a slim volume that had fallen down beneath the bed. It was a journal, written, he guessed, by a very young girl. Fergus wasn't interested in the kind of fluff that ten year old girls write about, until he saw the words written on the inside front cover._

"_Flower gleam and glow..."_

_The words of the spell!_

_X0x0x0x0x0x0X_

_Fergus was now nearly a year into his search for the greatest treasure. He'd tried casting the mysterious spell several times, with no results, but it hadn't dissuaded him. His journey had now taken him all over the north and west of the country and back again. It had been tough, but he had had to leave his horse, whom he'd named Milton, back in the kingdom of Corona. It was easier travelling by horse, but he knew he would need to travel over very horse-unfriendly terrain. Milton had seemed disappointed, but seemed to accept his decision._

_Finally, Fergus's wandering led him towards a waterfall of changing colours. He heard a familiar whinny. It was Milton! After all these months, it was an amazing coincidence that Milton had arrived here on the same day as Fergus._

_Then Fergus was distracted by what Milton was looking at. A woman with golden hair. It was a magical sight. So maybe the magic would work this time..._

_Creeping closer and motioning to Milton not to give him away, which Milton did without a second thought, Fergus stared intently at the wonderful golden girl and intoned the words of the spell._

**A/N - I just remembered I should add an acknowledgement. Not that I am aware of having borrowed from anybody's story, but Enchantable's Campanula was the first fic I ever read on this site and the idea of using the actual real name of the flower Rapunzel is named after has been used here.**


	5. Hold On

**A/N - I know, I know, it's been AGES since I posted an update. Sorry about that - I've just been suddenly rushed off my feet with work and wedding planning. Anyway, I 've had it up to _here _with ribbons, balloons and flowers, and managed to cram in this extremely short chapter.**

Chapter Four – Hold On

"Rapunzel," Eugene said, surprised and just a little concerned. "Your hair!"

Her hair was glowing golden as she dressed. Rapunzel had been singing the healing incantation to herself unconsciously. She had thought she'd heard the words being softly spoken and had begun singing without thinking. She stopped and the glow quickly faded.

"I'm sorry, Eugene," she said. "I haven't..."

"You haven't sung that for a long time," Eugene finished. Over a year in fact; she had sung it once for her parents, to show off the power and the reason Gothel had stolen her in the first place, and the subject had never been raised again.

Pascal scampered over, ran up Rapunzel's arm and nuzzled into her neck. The little chameleon had also heard the softly spoken words providing an eerie counter-point to Rapunzel's gentle singing. He squeaked into her ear.

"I don't know," she replied in a whisper. Eugene looked around nervously.

"I'm not normally against enhancing a reputation," he began, "but I don't think it's a good idea to advertise the hair. Maybe we should go home. We can always explore the world with some bodyguards..."

Even as his voice trailed off, he knew Rapunzel wasn't going to agree. But then his heart broke when he saw Rapunzel's eyes flash with annoyance, and just as quickly turn sad as she hung her head.

"You're right," she sighed quietly.

Eugene felt like a tool, but he knew he was right. He reached for Rapunzel's hand, watching her making the enormous effort to pull herself together.

"I got to see the rainbow waterfall," she said, a small smile creeping back across her face, to Eugene's relief.

"That you did," he agreed, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Need some help tying your hair back up, Blondie?"

"No, I can manage," she said, twisting and braiding. It wasn't as neat as before, but it was out of the way, and she wouldn't be sitting on it as she climbed back into Milton's saddle.

On the edge of hearing, a voice spoke, directly to the horse, which took off in exactly the wrong direction at exactly top speed.

"Rapunzel!" Eugene yelled. The weeks and months of outdoor labour had done wonders to increase his fitness, which was just as well, as Max had already begun his gallop after the princess when Eugene threw himself onto the horse's back.

Milton had an incredible head start, and Eugene worried that Max wouldn't be able to make up the ground. He hadn't counted on Max's use of shortcuts, and Rapunzel was soon back in sight, her long hair escaping from the hastily tied braid.

She was holding tightly to the reins for fear of falling off; Pascal was gripping her sleeve with all four feet and his tongue. She had given up screaming at the horse to stop; besides she had had all the breath bounced out of her by the ride. Until Milton decided to stop, all Rapunzel could do was hang on for dear life.

"Come on, Max," Eugene hissed through clenched teeth, "we're gaining on them! Hang on, Blondie, I'm coming!"

Fergus also knew a shortcut. Plus, he had the advantage of knowing where he had sent Milton, so he arrived comfortably ahead of all of them, to the high walled three sided valley at the base of the weeping mountain. The perfect place to entrap his greatest treasure.

**A/N - I don't know when I'll be able to update next :-( To be honest I'm running out of steam with this one :-( :-( Give me a while to get work and wedding sorted and I'll see where the story takes me next...**


	6. Confrontation

**A/N - Well, I'm in danger of turning into Bridezilla, so I've taken up refuge in writing again. I'm still here, and I'm still writing. And, I'm already halfway through the next chapter. R&R please!**

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Chapter Five – Confrontation

As Milton rode into the valley, Rapunzel's eyes went wide with fear. It felt too familiar. The only thing missing was a tower.

Fergus stepped in front of Milton and the horse obediently trotted to a halt. Rapunzel stared at the little man, who was grinning at her in a most unnerving manner. He held out a hand to help her down from the saddle, but Rapunzel refused. This annoyed Fergus and he grabbed two handfuls of her hair and _pulled_. Rapunzel toppled clumsily down onto the ground with a small scream. Shaking herself, she stood up and pulled her hair back from Fergus's grasp.

Keeping her eyes on her captor, Rapunzel backed away until she could see the small entrance to the valley out of the corner of her eye. Gathering all her hair into one loose bundle, Rapunzel made a dash for the gap in the trees, skidding to a stop as Milton placed himself firmly in her path. She was trapped. And then Fergus began to sing...

X0x0x0x0x0x0X

Eugene and Max rode hard, with Max following Rapunzel's scent and fuelled by his hatred towards the smaller, treacherous horse. Then, Max spotted the hated beast, standing sideways across the small entrance to a valley and sped up. With one mighty leap, Max cleared Milton like a hurdle and landed with hardly a skid on the grass on the other side.

Eugene dismounted and, without consciously thinking about it, grabbed the first thing to hand.

There was a thud, as the three foot sturdy log connected with the back of Fergus's head, mid-stanza, followed by a second thud as Fergus connected with the ground. Eugene looked at the branch in his hand.

"Eh, it's no frying pan," he mused, dropping it just in time for Rapunzel to throw herself into his arms.

"Come on, we have to go before he wakes up!" she cried, breaking the embrace and tugging on Eugene's hands towards the exit. Milton, apparently unconcerned by his master's unconsciousness, had returned to his default setting and was standing idle. It was weird; almost as if he wasn't real.

"Not yet, Blondie," Eugene gently prised his hands from the girl's desperate grip. "I want to know who this creep is and how he knows your song. We'd better get him tied up so we can question him."

Rapunzel hesitated and held her hair tightly. Eugene frowned.

"So, it's okay to tie _me_ up," he said, "but not some dangerous stranger?"

"There's nothing to tie him to," Rapunzel said in a small voice. "I don't know how secure I can make him."

Eugene softened and looked around. There was a fallen tree with lots of branches not far away. That would do. Rapunzel nodded and began weaving bonds with her hair.

Fergus woke up only moments after Rapunzel finished, making her jump. Unfortunately, she was unable to jump back as far as she'd like, since, of course, she was now tied to him.

"Who are you?" Eugene demanded. "Who do you work for and how do you know that song?"

Fergus smiled. It was an unpleasant smile that promised nasty consequences. Eugene raised his improvised log weapon again.

"I won't ask twice," he said.

"My name is Fergus," Fergus conceded. "I don't work for anyone. And that song is magic, isn't it?"

"You know it is," Eugene glowered. "But that doesn't answer my questions. Tell me, Fungus, how you know the song. Who told you? Was it an old woman?"

"It might have been," Fergus replied, cryptically, making a note of _Fungus_ for later. "There was a witch's cave with the words of the song written on the wall."

Eugene grabbed Rapunzel's arm and pulled her out of earshot, as far as her hair would let him and lowered his voice.

"Gothel was trapped in a cave," he whispered. "He must've found that cave."

"So what do we do with him now?" Rapunzel asked, also in a whisper. "I can't stay tied to him forever!"

"Maybe we can take him to the nearest city," said Eugene. "Hand him over to the local guards."

Pascal, from his perch on Rapunzel's shoulder, chittered and squeaked.

"Pascal's right, Eugene," Rapunzel said, nodding.

"Uh, I don't speak frog," Eugene pointed out that he had no idea what Pascal had just said.

"Oh, he asked how Max was supposed to carry me, Fungus – I mean _Fergus_ – _and_ a tree to the nearest city," Rapunzel translated. Eugene considered this, before turning to Fergus.

To where Fergus had been. Rapunzel's hair was now draped loosely around the dead tree branches and holding nothing. Eugene looked around quickly. Milton had gone too. Eugene looked around apprehensively, pulling Rapunzel into a tight embrace.

"We'll never make it home before nightfall," he said with a sigh. "We should find somewhere to sleep."

Rapunzel looked up at him, pulled, reluctantly, out of Eugene's arms and went over to Max and their satchels. She took out a map and spread it out on the grass. She traced her finger over the paper, finding landmarks and, finally, looked up at Eugene with her eyes bright with excitement.

"We're only two miles from Pyrios!" she said. Eugene looked blank. "It's a small kingdom ruled by my father's cousin. They've been trying a new way of sending messages using pigeons."

"You mean, rats with wings?" Eugene said, screwing his face up in disgust.

"It means we can send a message home," Rapunzel pointed out, and Eugene's face lit up instantly in relief.


	7. The Trial and Execution of

**A/N - Title taken from my favourite adventure game series Monkey Island's latest installment Tales of...**

**I finished this chapter during my lunchbreak at work, and I'm still inspired, so there could be a second upload later on tonight, if I can. R&R x**

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Chapter Six – The Trial and Execution of Eugene Fitzherbert

Max trotted through the kingdom gates a short time later. Eugene helped Rapunzel down from the saddle and she set off in an almost instinctive direction towards a large circular building. The smell inside was overwhelming, so Eugene waited outside, while Rapunzel disappeared inside to send a message to her parents.

Eugene was looking towards the sky to see the bird flying home when a voice shouted: "That's him!" and strong hands grabbed him tightly. Looking down and around desperately, Eugene saw Fergus standing a few feet away with the captain of the guard looking very smug.

"He kidnapped my girlfriend!" Fergus accused. "He's a dangerous man who beat me up and took her!"

"No!" Eugene protested, struggling against the guards, but it was no use. He was gagged before he could call out to Rapunzel, and dragged away.

Rapunzel heard the commotion outside and hurried outside. She could see the crowd closing around a huddle of guards, but no sign of Eugene.

She ran to where Max was standing patiently, sniffing at an apple stall. The horse saw the panicked look on the princess's face and placed his nose on the ground for Eugene's scent without being asked.

They reached the castle grounds just minutes after Eugene and his escorts. There was to be an immediate trial; Fergus had demanded it and the captain of the guards, with an evil leer, had readily agreed. Leaving Max outside, Rapunzel silently followed the group of men into the grand hall. She vaguely recognised the man sitting slumped in the throne from some portraits her father had shown her. He certainly didn't look very regal. He looked like a man beaten down and exhausted by the world. He barely looked up as the entourage entered.

"This man is accused of kidnap!" The captain of the guard began, striding forward. King Ulrich flinched at the sound of his voice. Rapunzel gasped and ran forward, straight into Fergus's waiting arms. She struggled, but then stopped when she felt something pointed pressed against her side. Fergus marched her forwards to join the rest of the trial.

"How do you plead?" King Ulrich asked in a bored tone of voice. The gag was removed from Eugene's mouth for him to answer, but he had seen the sun glint off the knife Fergus held, and bit his tongue; he couldn't risk Rapunzel being hurt.

"He does not deny it!" the captain of the guard said, gleefully. "Guilty as charged. Sentence to be carried out immediately, your majesty?"

There was something about the way he said 'your majesty' that gave Rapunzel pause. Something was wrong with the balance of power here. Eugene would never get a fair hearing. There was barely a movement of King Ulrich's head, but the captain took that as assent and dragged the struggling Eugene through a different set of doors, leading out onto a courtyard where, they could see, a gallows had already been prepared. This had been a foregone conclusion.

Rapunzel couldn't struggle against Fergus, even without the knife he was still much stronger than her. But she still had the element of surprise. Or, more accurately, the chameleon of surprise.

Unseen, Pascal had shimmied up Rapunzel's hair, crawled around to her shoulder, and with all the strength he could put into the muscle, slammed his tongue hard into Fergus's left ear. It was a moment that would have greatly gratified Eugene, had he been in a position to see it. Fergus yelped in shock and released his hold on Rapunzel, who took this as her cue to run.

She stood in front of the throne and glared at the man until he could meet her gaze no longer.

"You are kin to my father!" she yelled at him. "How could you do this?"

At this, King Ulrich looked up. He had barely recognised the princess, but now realisation dawned in his eyes and clanged around his head as his world, already broken, crashed down around him. He dropped his head into his hands.

"I am so sorry, princess," he sobbed. "There is nothing I can do."

Out in the courtyard, Eugene was marched up the gallows' steps and his arms were roughly tied behind him.

"Last words?" asked the executioner, a reasonably cheerful man, who clearly had no opinions one way or another on his guests' guilt or innocence, concentrating instead on getting his job done.

"Would you tell Rapunzel I love her?" Eugene whispered, so quietly the executioner nearly didn't hear him. For the first time, the man frowned.

"I will," he said. And he meant it.

A black hood was placed over Eugene's head, followed by the noose. As the rope was pulled tight, Eugene's breathing increased, as though aware that their number was limited. All Eugene could hear was his own heart beating hard in his chest. Then…. nothing.


	8. Coup with a Coo

Chapter Seven – Coup with a Coo

Nothing.

But not the nothing of death. Which is what he had been expecting.

This was the long drawn-out nothing of complete inactivity. Nothing had happened. His feet were still on the, thankfully, solid trapdoor and not dancing on thin air. He was still able to draw breath, albeit warm and stuffy inside the hood. He was still alive. And it was torturing him.

The hood muffled almost all sound reaching his ears, so Eugene could hear nothing going on beyond the thick black fabric. How long were they going to make him stand there before they finally pulled the lever that ended his life? The wait was unendurable.

Negating his original, heartfelt last words, Eugene yelled through the hood: "Get it over with, please!"

A moment later the noose pulled a little tighter and Eugene closed his eyes, convinced that this was finally it. But then the rope loosened and the hood was pulled from his head.

Blinking in the sudden brightness, Eugene saw Rapunzel, looking flushed with exertion and slightly anxious, standing before him, dropping the black hood to one side. She threw her arms around him tightly. Eugene wanted to return the embrace, but of course his hands were still bound behind his back.

Rapunzel, puzzled at Eugene's lack of response to her hug, worked out the problem and, with the small knife Fergus had threatened her with, removed the bonds. Immediately, Eugene swept her into his arms, kissing her with all the emotion that had been building inside, never wanting to ever let her go.

"Excuse me, miss?" said a voice. They turned their heads, not breaking the embrace to see the executioner, looking very stunned, holding up a hand. "Are you Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel nodded and the executioner grinned.

"Your young man here says he loves you," the executioner said. Then, at the fulfilment of his promise, he walked down the gallows steps and off in search of a strong drink. It had been the strangest execution he had ever not done.

Eugene looked at Rapunzel. In over a year together, he had never actually said those three words. And now a stranger had said them for him. The pressure was off. He kissed her again.

"I love you, Rapunzel," he whispered softly. He took a deep breath and looked around. Some of Rapunzel's hair was still wrapped around the trapdoor lever, holding it closed. The guards were all unconscious in a heap, except for a few, in a different uniform, lurking in the shadows. Eugene tightened his hold on Rapunzel "Blondie, what on earth happened?"

Rapunzel giggled.

"Let's go inside," she said. "You can formally meet King Ulrich and I'll explain everything."

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_I knew something was wrong with King Ulrich,_ Rapunzel explained. _My father had told me so much about what a great and fair leader he was and, without wishing to offend your majesty, that wasn't what I saw here._

_It was clear something or someone was upsetting things, but I only had a little time to sort things out before….Well, anyway._

_I escaped from Fergus, after it turns out he is allergic to chameleon saliva. He had a fit and raced out to find herbs to reduce the swelling. It looked awful, no-one was going to stop him. I had to confront King Ulrich, who felt so guilty about what had happened. He sort of explained that everything had gone wrong after he was tricked and manipulated by an old man, who had just turned up one day._

_The man – King Ulrich, you said his name was Theodore? – he slowly started replacing the important members of court, including the captain of the guards, with his own men. Loyal to him and his agenda, and definitely not working for King Ulrich or the people of Pyrios._

_It turns out there were a few rogue guards still loyal to the king, hidden away in a secret chamber behind the throne room. King Ulrich brought them out to help. It was an ambush, which was good, because they were outnumbered, but they managed to knock out all the bad guards, and I rescued you._

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"Yes, yes you did," said Eugene, holding her close. He gave a heavy sigh. "It won't be long before the guards wake up. What else can you tell us about Theodore?"

"He guessed a few key, but private details about me and my family," King Ulrich explained. "I was fooled into believing he would be a good advisor. He was given a position of trust and power. I was so stupid! This all happened in less than a year. Less than a year and I've lost my kingdom."

"Not yet," said Eugene.

"Mr Fitzherbert," King Ulrich began. "I cannot ask you to get involved in this. I could not put you in more danger. I will ask my cousin for help. I sent a pigeon while all the fighting was going on."

"Messenger pigeons are the way to go," Eugene conceded.

"Where is Theodore now?" Rapunzel asked, nervously.

"Right here," said a voice behind them. They turned to see an old man, leaning on a cane, supported on the other side by Fergus, holding a frightened looking pigeon in his hand. Fergus's ear was still swollen and red. Eugene instinctively pushed Rapunzel behind him to protect her.

"I want you out of this castle and out of my kingdom!" yelled King Ulrich, knowing that with his cousin not able to receive his message he would have to handle this alone. Theodore merely smiled slowly.

"I don't think so," he said. "Guards!"

"Guards!" King Ulrich called at the same time.

The two sets of guards, in two opposing uniforms, marched smartly into the room. Suddenly Eugene and Rapunzel found themselves in a circle of halberds, all pointing in their direction.

"Eugene..." Rapunzel began, hoping he would have a plan. Unfortunately, Eugene was out of ideas. Then he noticed Fergus edging his way towards them.

"Where's Pascal?" he hissed. The chameleon scampered onto the top of Rapunzel's head and squeaked a reply. "Can you aim somewhere other than his ear?"

The little lizard nodded and a familiar look appeared in his eyes, one of sheer mischief. Unseen, he scampered towards Fergus, who had opened his mouth to sing Gothel's song. He was rudely interrupted by Pascal slamming his tongue against Fergus's nose, then his chin.

Enough of the song had been sung to start Rapunzel's hair glowing. The guards on both sides stopped and stared, dumbstruck at the golden glow now filling the room. Rapunzel gathered her hair towards her, protectively. Theodore was temporarily stunned by the sight of the magic glow, only for a moment. But a moment was all Eugene needed.

He bolted forward and snatched the cane away from the old man's hand, at most expecting Theodore to stumble and collapse without the support. Instead, Theodore stood as strong as ever, but furiously made a grab for the cane. Eugene didn't understand at first. Then he had a revelation.

The cane was the source of Theodore's power, the reason he was able to accurately 'guess' the details of King Ulrich's life, and the reason he was so easily able to manipulate the great man. The cane had to be destroyed. Eugene tried breaking it over his knee, but only succeeded in giving himself a bruise. Theodore laughed.

"Magic made, boy!" he sneered. "You can't just break it!"

Eugene was thinking quickly and hated the conclusion he had reached. He would have to ask Rapunzel to use her magic hair to shatter, not heal. That is, if the magic worked like that, but it was the only plan he had.

Grabbing Rapunzel tightly by the hand, Eugene raced back to the courtyard where, just minutes before, he had been expecting to die. He pulled the lever to open the gallows trapdoor and then laid the cane across the gap. Taking a handful of Rapunzel's hair, he tied it around the middle of the cane.

"Blondie, I need you to sing," he said. Rapunzel had also worked out what Eugene was trying to do and began to sing. As soon as the glow reached its brightest, Eugene pulled hard. There was a loud crack and the cane snapped in two.

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**A/N - the muses have been busy today. I know I promised this update a few days ago, but work suddenly got mad. Did you really think I was going to kill Eugene?**

**There are a number of influences in this chapter. Theodore is a combination of Rasputin and Cardinal Richeleu - particularly with the split of the guards loyalties which is very Three Musketeers. Theodore's cane has its origins in a number of places, but the one that was actively running through my head was Jafar's staff.**

**This story has taken off in a radically different direction to the one I originally planned, but I think it's still going OK - read & review please.**


	9. Experiments

**A/N - OK, this story is turning out to be as much a surprise to me as it is to you dear readers. Unlike any other work I've done, I don't actually have a plan. It's actually more fun to take the journey with our characters in this case.**

**This chapter came about after I received feedback on my other stories which (rightfully) pointed out that I really don't seem to spend a lot of time with Rapunzel. The truth is, I just find it a whole lot easier to write for Eugene (must be my slight ZL obsession!) So, I thought I'd give it a go. This is a Rapunzel chapter. R&R please!**

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Chapter Eight – Experiments

Theodore, Fergus – with his face horribly inflamed, King Ulrich and all the guards had followed Rapunzel and Eugene out into the courtyard, and Theodore's scream of anger as his cane broke echoed back off the castle walls and seemed to go on for a long time. Rapunzel's immediate reaction was to hide herself behind Eugene as Theodore approached. The guards, on both sides, pointed their weapons at each other as Theodore marched towards the pair. He grabbed a handful of Rapunzel's hair and pulled. Rapunzel screamed in pain.

"How did you do that, witch?" Theodore screamed, pulling Rapunzel by her hair out of Eugene's grasp and back towards his waiting guards. Eugene made to follow, but the points of the guards' halberds turned and poked into his chest, halting him.

"She's the treasure I was telling you about, father," said Fergus, his voice slightly muffled by the swelling of his face.

Eugene stared at him in shock. Father?

"Yes, boy," Theodore said, distractedly. "And you were going to waste her on those bandits. She's much more valuable to me!"

And with those words, Theodore, Rapunzel and Fergus disappeared through a small, hidden door. Theodore's guards backed up to form a barrier between the door and Eugene, who could only watch Rapunzel being taken from him once again. He sagged to his knees, all but defeated as the door slammed shut.

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Rapunzel's scalp hurt where Theodore had tugged her hair, almost out at the roots. Theodore was marching them along the dark corridor at a relentless pace. The corridor grew darker, the torches set in the wall becoming fewer and far between. Fergus tugged on his father's sleeve.

"Make her sing," he managed to mumble. "I keep falling over her hair, I need to see where I'm going."

Theodore gave Rapunzel's hair a sharp yank, and pulled a small dagger from his belt.

"Do as the boy says," he said. No further threat was needed.

Rapunzel sang, her voice shaking. As they continued to move down the corridor, lit by the glowing hair, Theodore felt the energy rush into his body. Rapunzel and Fergus watched, Fergus in amazement, Rapunzel with fear and familiarity, as the years fell away. Theodore's wrinkles smoothed out, his hair darkened, and a smile – an evil, foreboding smile – crossed his now youthful face.

"Very interesting," Theodore muttered, and continued to lead them to the room at the end of the corridor.

Rapunzel's eyes opened wide as she entered the room. It was an alchemy laboratory. She had never seen so many bottles, containing so many colourful liquids, or – her face paled – body parts. Despite her fear, her curiosity was still aroused by all the strange new sights.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to some apparatus dripping a strange clear liquid into a beaker.

"That's for me," said Fergus, dashing over and swallowing a large mouthful. His allergic reaction immediately started to subside.

"What's _that_?" Rapunzel asked, pointing at a rather more sinister set up. She didn't like the look of the green bubbling liquid, or the row of extremely sharp looking instruments mounted on the wall just beyond it.

"That," said Theodore, "is something new I've been working on. And that's all _you_ need to know. You are going to be of great use to me."

He dragged Rapunzel over to a chair, just beneath the rack of unpleasant implements and tied her firmly down. He took a sharp knife from the rack and made to cut a strand of her hair.

"If you do that it'll lose its power!" Rapunzel squeaked, before instantly clamping her mouth shut. Why had she told him that? Why had she given away such an important secret? Theodore turned and looked at her, almost as if he did not believe her – as if she was lying to try and fool him.

He took a smaller strand, only about five hairs, and sliced through. He watched, not with horror, but with mounting interest, as the hair turned brown. It seemed the girl was telling the truth. But then Theodore had an idea. Certainly once the hair was cut it lost its magic, but what if the hair was intact? He took a single hair and pulled brusquely, tearing out the root of the hair as well. Rapunzel cried out at the sharp pain, then gasped as the hair remained blonde.

"Now sing!" Theodore commanded, staring at the hair he had curled up on his palm.

Rapunzel sang the incantation, with Fergus supplying an unexpected and, to Rapunzel at least, unwanted harmony. The hair from her head glowed as expected, but, for a few seconds, the coil of hair Theodore held shimmered with light.

"You can't just pull out my hair!" Rapunzel said, panicked as Theodore looked at her with a hunger she had not seen before and did not like.

"Oh, I don't intend to," said Theodore. "It's not powerful enough once it's removed from your pretty little head." He thought for a moment, then his face lit up: "It must need blood to work properly."

He turned back to the rack of instruments and selected a long, thin, pointed piece of metal. Rapunzel struggled against her bonds; Theodore would not take her blood without a fight. But the ropes were tied too tightly. For one frightening moment Rapunzel was afraid she would die and never see Eugene again.

Theodore turned her hand over to reveal her palm, despite her attempts to clench her fist, to dig her fingernails into his skin. He drew the point across her palm, so that a thin line of red oozed out. Then he soaked the coil of hair in the rich warm blood.

Fergus, eagerly watching, could not contain his patience and began to sing the incantation. Rapunzel's hair glowed, including the coil Theodore held. Theodore, initially furious at his son for altering the timing of his experiment, let a smile slide across his face and his eyes gleamed. He took the blood-soaked coil of hair over to his laboratory table and examined it with a magnifying glass.

His attention was now away from Rapunzel, so she renewed her attempt to escape. But struggling was pointless. She had, however, forgotten about Pascal. The little lizard had tied himself to her hair, after attacking Fergus and before Eugene broke the magic cane. He had come along for the ride, feeling the rush of magic every time Rapunzel or Fergus sang. Now he untied himself, scampered up to Rapunzel's shoulder and squeaked.

"Get me out of these ropes, Pascal," Rapunzel hissed. "I can't do anything with my hands tied. All this is my fault. It was a _stupid_ waterfall! Just a waterfall!"

Pascal admonished her, turning red, then yellow before returning to his natural green.

Then there was a crashing sound outside the door, causing Theodore and Fergus, both bent over in examination, to look up sharply. Pascal camouflaged himself against the wall, and Rapunzel stared wide eyed, hoping it was Eugene, and very afraid it wasn't.

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**A/N - I think there should be at least one, maybe two more chapters to this and an epilogue. Reviews will help me develop my overall Rapunzel characterisation if this one sucks!**


	10. Rescuing Rapunzel  again

Chapter Nine – Rescuing Rapunzel. Again

Eugene turned to King Ulrich.

"Did you know Theodore had a son? Did you know it was his son who had me arrested and nearly killed?" he demanded. He had no respect for the once great leader, who was doing nothing to show his leadership.

"No," said King Ulrich, looking dejected and miserable. "I didn't even know about that doorway either and my father built this castle. This is awful and it's all my fault. I've really let everyone down."

"Snap out of it!" Eugene yelled, growing tired of the man's self pity. "We have to do something! Something useful!"

He stopped for a moment as a thought occurred to him and he raced back outside: he needed Maximus.

The horse had grown bored waiting outside the castle while all the commotion was going on behind the stone walls. He had glared at the guards stationed along the battlements. They weren't stood to attention, slouching against the brickwork, sharing clandestine nips from a flask that Max was sure did not contain apple juice. There was no way Maximus would let his highly trained men behave so unprofessionally. What he wouldn't give for a frying pan right now; or an apple – the horse's stomach rumbled uncomfortably. The lure of that market stall grew stronger and Max decided to give in.

Eugene hadn't really expected Maximus to hang around the outside of the castle indefinitely, waiting for them to return to take them home, but he still experienced a momentary panic when he couldn't spot where the horse had gone. He quickly worked it out, ran over to the stall and threw a handful of coins at the stall holder, grabbed three apples and Max's reins.

"I'll give you three guesses Max," Eugene muttered in response to the horse's indignant grunt. Max needed no further encouragement; he had been waiting for an excuse to cross the castle threshold.

Theodore's guards hadn't moved, but their expressions slowly changed from malevolent anticipation to disbelief to terror as Maximus galloped into the room and showed no sign of slowing as he approached the door to Theodore's hideaway. The smarter guards chose to run away as the horse loomed upon them, but the captain of the guard – who thought with his muscles and ego rather than his brain – tried to stand his ground and was sent flying, first by Max's front hoof, then by Eugene's right foot as he dismounted and wrenched open the door.

Eugene didn't have the luxury of golden hair to help light his way, so he was forced to run his hand along the stones to ensure he didn't run nose-first into a wall. He heard grunting and snuffling behind him and knew that Max was attempting to follow him. Then he heard grunting and snuffling ahead of him and down a side corridor to the right. It wasn't an echo. It was Milton.

Maximus barrelled past Eugene to confront his nemesis. Eugene ducked past the flying hooves and tails and tried to block out the terrible noise that really did resonate through the passageway. He finally saw a chink of light from round the edge of a door and knew that was where Rapunzel was being held.

He thrust his shoulder into the wooden door. It creaked and he felt it give a little. It hurt, but he put all his energy into another heave. The wood splintered and Eugene almost fell into the room beyond.

He looked around quickly. Theodore and Fergus had looked up immediately at the noise, and Eugene was stunned to see that Theodore looked the same age as his son. He had clearly been using Rapunzel's magic – and that was enough to make Eugene angry. He had been willing to die to release Rapunzel from being used for such selfish purposes and now someone else had taken her for exactly the same reason.

He charged towards the men, grabbing the first item to hand and swinging it wildly. Fergus was sent flying, but Theodore, invigorated by the power Rapunzel's hair had given him, fought back. Eugene saw the blow coming, but couldn't duck in time. He fell backwards, landing on the floor, a few feet away from where Rapunzel was bound.

"Eugene!" she cried, breathlessly. "Look out!"

He blinked and shook his head and rolled out of the way as Theodore lunged at him with one of the wicked looking implements off the wall. He had dislodged several other sharp items from their hooks and Pascal quickly hooked one with his tail to cut through the bonds holding Rapunzel. Theodore had turned his back to chase after Eugene, so he didn't see the chair Rapunzel had lifted over her head to bring crashing down into his skull.

Dropping the fractured chair pieces, Rapunzel threw herself into Eugene's arms and he returned her embrace enthusiastically. Their relief didn't last long, however, as both Fergus and Theodore recovered and pulled themselves to their feet, Theodore on one side and Fergus on the other. Physically, two people should not be capable of surrounding anything, but the air of menace and intimidation more than made up the extra space. Eugene held Rapunzel tighter, desperate to protect her.

Rapunzel had her own ideas. Pulling gently out of Eugene's arms, she turned and used her hair like a whip, smacking it into Fergus's face, and depositing Pascal within tongue-lashing distance.

"Oh, no you don't!" Fergus yelled, kicking out at Pascal, who scampered out of the way. Fergus's attention was distracted so he didn't see the second wave of hair hitting him in the face with even more force. "Stop that!" he yelled and started to run towards the couple.

Afterwards, when he tried to describe what happened next, the normally narrative Eugene struggled to find the words to describe it.

He had been keeping one wary eye on Theodore, who, despite his new youth, hadn't fully recovered and was still slightly swaying. Turning his head, Eugene saw Fergus approaching, fury etched on his face. Eugene pulled Rapunzel to one side, but not before Pascal grabbed the end of her hair and pulled it taut, creating a trip wire.

Almost in slow motion, Fergus stumbled and fell, past Eugene and Rapunzel and straight into his father, knocking both of them into the pile of deadly looking weaponry on the floor. Eugene turned Rapunzel away so she wouldn't have to see the two men twitch and fall still.

**A/N - I know I really suck at the middle of stories! I usually come up with brilliant beginnings and awesome endings, and the middle kind of meanders along. Please review - there should be one more chapter and then the epilogue to come.**


	11. Going Home

Chapter Ten – Going home

It felt like they had stood wrapped in each other's arms forever, but Rapunzel and Eugene knew it wasn't quite over yet. Eugene took Rapunzel's hand in his and held it as though he would never let her go, then opened the door.

Rapunzel let out a frightened shriek as they were confronted by foaming mouth, wild mane and steam rising from the flanks of a wild horse. It took a few seconds before she let out a heavy sigh of relief; it was Maximus.

"What happened to Milton?" Eugene asked. Maximus grunted and shook his head. Eugene didn't ask further.

They followed the horse, lit by Rapunzel's hair, back down the corridor to the main hall. Eugene was hesitant about returning, knowing the guards would still be there, that there would still be a fight before they were finally free.

But he was in for a surprise.

In their absence, King Ulrich had finally come to his senses. Eugene, Rapunzel and Max stepped into a room where Theodore's guards were themselves being guarded by Ulrich's men and... every able-bodied man in the kingdom, some of them wielding unconventional weapons. Although, Eugene reflected, there weren't many frying pans. He would have to suggest that to Ulrich before they left.

"I am truly sorry for everything that happened here," King Ulrich said, shaking Eugene's hand and kissing Rapunzel's cheek.

"We should go," said Rapunzel. "I... I'm ready to go home."

Eugene instantly felt guilty. Rapunzel had been looking forward to seeing the world and her exploration had been rudely interrupted and painfully cut short.

"We'll go home the pretty way," he promised.

As they travelled home, both riding on Maximus, Rapunzel lay in Eugene's arms, quiet and withdrawn until they spotted a lighthouse that Rapunzel wanted climb, showing some of her former enthusiasm. It surprised Eugene; he couldn't imagine why she would want to voluntarily enter a tower, but before Rapunzel could even open the door she glimpsed a small glow halfway down a cliff on a rocky outcrop. Unbeknownst to either of them it was the original location of the magic flower that had given Rapunzel her hair. She felt drawn to the spot.

Centuries ago a single drop of sunlight fell to earth and from it a magical flower grew. Just over nineteen years ago the flower was found by people desperate for a miracle cure, and, as careful as they were, they were guards, not gardeners, and some roots were left behind. These roots still contained a tiny amount of the original sun drop.

Eugene felt incredibly nervous watching Rapunzel climb out. She had grown and changed in twelve months, learned a great deal, become a princess, but she was still Rapunzel, still clumsy, in an endearing and, at times like this endangering way.

"I can see to the edge of the world!" Rapunzel exclaimed, turning her head to look at Eugene with pure excitement and joy on her face. As her head turned, her hair fell and touched one of the exposed roots. At once, both root and hair began to glow. The luminosity increased to the point where it was painful to look at, and both Eugene and Rapunzel were forced to close their eyes. Rapunzel felt the power flowing from her hair to the earth and back again. Over and over, until it started to hurt. She tried to pull her hair away, but it seemed to be stuck to the ground. She cried out in pain, and Eugene was forced to open his eyes to help his beloved.

Eugene still held Fergus's knife. He knew what he had to do. He sliced through Rapunzel's hair, releasing her from the flower's grip. The hair on her head turned chocolate brown instantly, but, to the amazement of both of them, the seventy feet of shorn hair remained blonde, twisting around the roots and planting itself into the earth.

Eugene pulled Rapunzel back away from the edge as they watched the glow faded away. All around where the hair had fallen, a whole bunch of small, golden flowers now grew, one from each strand of hair. Rapunzel looked at Eugene and he could tell what she was thinking. He sighed, blinked once or twice, and then nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel sang the healing incantation and watched as the whole outcrop began to glow again, each small plant shining with a fraction of the total magic, until the entire crop lit up the whole cliff side.

Once the glow faded, Eugene carefully dug around one of the plants, and extracted it, complete with roots. This was something they had to take home.

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**A/N - Okay so this finally chapter was probably the weakest, but in all honesty, I ran out of steam with this :-( **

**I have already started the next story though - hopefully a much better one.**


	12. Epilogue

**A/N - Thanks for travelling with me, Rapunzel and Eugene. Hope you enjoyed the journey. **

**R+R x**

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Epilogue

After leaving their magical plant with the head gardener, Eugene was on edge from the moment they walked back through the castle doors. Not only did he have to explain his and Rapunzel's disappearance for the past couple of days, he had to explain the loss of one of the royal horses and seventy feet of golden hair. Rapunzel felt his nervousness.

"It'll be alright," she whispered. "I'll explain everything. You saved me again, Eugene."

As the King walked down the hall towards them, a mix of anger, worry and relief on his face, Eugene instinctively dropped to one knee, bowing his head. Rapunzel ran into her father's arms.

"Father!" she cried. "Don't be mad at Eugene, he didn't..."

"Rapunzel," said the King, sharply, pulling back and holding the top of the princess's arms. "Your... your hair? No, never mind; you need to tell your mother you are safe. I will talk with Mr Fitzherbert."

"But..." Rapunzel began, but her father's expression silenced her. She nodded, dumbly and left, glancing back with a weak smile to where Eugene knelt.

When they were alone, Eugene risked looking up, but was unable to meet the King's gaze. The King's expression was now unreadable. To the King, however, Eugene was an open book, in large print and with pictures.

"I understood that Flynn Rider died in the tower," the king began. "So do I blame him or Mr Fitzherbert for kidnapping my daughter and losing one of my horses?"

Eugene blanched.

"Stand up Eugene," the King commanded. Eugene obeyed at once, mostly out of surprise that the King had used his first name. For twelve months the king had referred to him almost exclusively as 'Mr Fitzherbert'.

"Sire..." Eugene began, fighting to keep his voice level, but the king waved him into silence.

"The excursion was my daughter's idea, wasn't it?" he said. Eugene's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish while he wondered how best to answer. He decided on the truth.

"Yes, sire," he said. To his surprise the king smiled.

"Pigeons travel faster than horses," said the king, and Eugene finally smiled. Of course King Ulrich would have sent word to his cousin. "Although it upset me that she didn't feel comfortable enough to tell me beforehand. I had a present for her. For both of you really. Walk with me."

They walked back to the king's private study, where the king handed Eugene a large folded piece of paper. Eugene carefully opened it to reveal a map with annotations in the king's handwriting of many areas of interest.

"I knew Rapunzel still wanted to see the world," the king explained as Eugene studied the map. "I travelled when I was younger; I know the excitement of seeing new things. I was going to give you this to help you both explore the wonders and enjoy true freedom."

"Sire?" Eugene frowned.

"Well, on your return I expect you will be too busy to be free," said the king. "A word to the wise, son: my wife is looking forward to grandchildren."

It took a couple of seconds for Eugene to register the king's words.

"Wait... what?" he stammered, forgetting the usual formalities. The king laughed uproariously and clapped the young man across the shoulders.

"Oh, not for a few years, relax! Welcome to the family," he said. "Now, go and find Rapunzel and you can fill in your side of the story. My cousin was only able to tell me bits and pieces."

"Now, that's a story worth the telling, sire!" said Eugene, with much enthusiasm.

**Fin**


End file.
